Delta 400 in Ilfotec DD-X

EddieBoc · Jun 15, 2007

I've been recommended Ilfotec DD-x as the best dev for Delta 400 (@ ISO 400), but, following the recommended time/temp/aggitation the negs are coming out quite thin and very flat.

I took advice and increased the aggitation at the start which has helped, but the contrast is still far from what I expect on Delta.

For fuller development and punchier negs, should I keep trying with the Ilfotec or switch dev??

Any advice would be appreciated.

Roger Hicks · Jun 15, 2007

Dear Eddie,

Increase dev time 10%. That should do it. If it doesn't, try another 10%. Or if 10 or 20% turn out to be too much, try 5% and 15%. With an appropriate dev time, you should get what you want. If not -- sure, change devs.

Merely changing agitation in the way you describe will have minimal effect: going from intermittent agitation (10 sec/minute) to constant agitation is at best equivalent to a 15% increase in dev time, and more often to 10%, so a few seconds extra at the beginning ain't going to matter much.

Cheers,

Roger

john_s · Jun 15, 2007

EddieBoc said:
............. quite thin and very flat......

The recommended time should be getting you fairly close. Your description sounds to me as though there might be something wrong causing major underdevelopment. Any chance of your thermometer being incorrect, developer being stale, dilution errors,.........?

Roger Hicks · Jun 15, 2007

john_s said:
The recommended time should be getting you fairly close. Your description sounds to me as though there might be something wrong causing major underdevelopment. Any chance of your thermometer being incorrect, developer being stale, dilution errors,.........?

Or indeed underexposure (metering, meter accuracy...)

Cheers,

R.

EddieBoc · Jun 15, 2007

No, metering is fine. Edge reports and film tail are undercooked too.

Its a new bottle of dev, mixed 1+4 and temp is right.

My first instinct was that the dev had been sat in the shop too long, but there's no use by date on the bottle, so no way to check.

Another test strip which got a bit fogged looks perfect though! Maybe I should be pre-fogging the film??? ;-)

Mahler_one · Jun 15, 2007

Eddie: A feww questions if you don't mind:

1. 35mm, 120, or sheet film?

2. How are you developing your film, i.e., tanks, trays, Jobo?

3. Have you done any film testing, i.e., negative density vs. exposure vs. developer dilution?

Edwin

EddieBoc · Jun 15, 2007

35mm in tanks.

done a few test strips last night. I know its a dev problem cos of the tail & reports being underdeveloped.

I'll do more tests over the weekend, extending dev time, increasing temp, increasing the chemical concentration.

The film is about 2-3 years old, but is still in date and has been fridged, so I'm not expecting that that is the problem.

BWGirl · Jun 15, 2007

I just developed a roll of Delta 400 in DDX (9 minutes) agitating 10 seconds on the minute (about 4 rotating agitations/10 seconds) and my negs are fine.

Interesting.

Daniel_OB · Jun 15, 2007

Eddie
I've been recommended Ilfotec DD-x as the best dev for Delta 400 (@ ISO 400), but, following the recommended time/temp/aggitation the negs are coming out quite thin and very flat.

I took advice and increased the aggitation at the start which has helped, but the contrast is still far from what I expect on Delta.

For fuller development and punchier negs, should I keep trying with the Ilfotec or switch dev??

Any advice would be appreciated.

That is the reason why people test film and developer. If you just guess the time you will always be with gues and many times loss in valuable negatives. You will never know what you are doing. Learn to test film and developer and it will eliminate just any assumption (not difficult to learn).

By the way, what is in play when developing given film:
1. water in your house
2. agitation kind and intervals (tank development)
3. temperature
4. developing time
5. developer concentration
6. I would include here and your enlarger and paper kind

If you want to know in advance how you photograph will looks like you have to master all above.

As Roger say try to change time, but it will take you nowhere. Undestand the process for the next film.

www.Leica-R.com

john_s · Jun 15, 2007

One approach when something doesn't work at all well is to compare it with something that does. Have you developed film successfully before? It sounds as though you have. What was different? If the water, equipment, technique and temperature were the same, it points to what's left, film, developer, exposure. Sounds as though the exposure is probably not suspect since the edge markings are very faint (but some of them are fairly faint in my experience, though). The film is very likely to be ok. I have found DDX to be pretty active stuff at 1+4, but I would try a test (a few frames is enough) in any other robust developer.

John Shriver · Jun 15, 2007

Is the cap on the DD-X bottle black? That would mean that it's from after Ilford's reorganization. If it is red, the bottle is probably at least 2 years old, maybe more.

While I've had no shelf life problems with DD-X, even with year old open bottles, other folks report some problems. (Nothing compared to Ilfosol S.)

EddieBoc · Jun 27, 2007

It is a red cap on the bottle.

I've done more tests and still havent got results I'm happy with, so I'm gonna switch back to ID-11.

I have moved country so the water will have changed (much softer where I am now). Maybe thats significant, maybe not.

Delta 400 in Ilfotec DD-X

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